Everything We Know About Jen Psaki's COVID-19 Diagnosis

White House press secretary Jen Psaki has been a media fixture for President Joe Biden administration's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and has shared several memorable moments with Peter Doocy from Fox News during press conferences. For example, on August 11, while the press secretary fielded questions, Doocy asked if Biden's message during his campaign had created hesitancy for a portion of the population to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. "Not that we've seen in the data," Psaki replied (via The White House). "I would note that at the time, just for context, the former President [Donald Trump] was also suggesting people inject versions of poison into their veins to cure COVID," she added.

Although these noted exchanges with Doocy appear tense to the viewer, Psaki insists that the two manage to abstain from taking personal shots. "But my engagement with him, people don't always see this, but outside the briefing room, it is entirely professional and entirely, hopefully, responsive," she revealed to MediaIte in August. Psaki admitted that Doocy and others act differently when the cameras are rolling. "There's a performative component from the TV side of the briefing room," she added.

Psaki has also become the administration's spokesperson for the vaccine. "The United States is far and away the biggest contributor to the global fight against Covid. We will continue to be the arsenal for vaccines around the world," she said in an August presser (via CNBC). So, when Psaki tested positive for the virus, it became front-page news.

On October 31, Jen Psaki revealed that she had tested positive for COVID-19. Her diagnosis came after a family member she lived with had tested positive earlier in the week. The White House press secretary had tested negative four straight days before finally turning up a positive test result. "Since then, I have quarantined and tested negative (via PCR) for COVID on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday," she said in a statement, per CBS News. According to the press secretary, she had not seen "the president or senior members of the White House staff since Wednesday [October 27]."

Psaki is the highest-ranking member of Joe Biden's administration to test positive for the respiratory virus, per the Daily Mail. She had not been in physical contact with Biden since October 26. "I last saw the president on Tuesday, when we sat outside more than six feet apart, and wore masks," her statement read. A vocal proponent of the COVID-19 vaccine, Psaki was fully vaccinated and reported only mild symptoms after testing positive, per NPR. Psaki is the second White House press secretary to test positive for COVID-19; Kayleigh McEnany was the press secretary under Donald Trump and caught the virus while he was in office.

Previously, Psaki made headlines after she invited Nicki Minaj to discuss the vaccine with White House medical staff. This came after Minaj posted viral tweets about her vaccine-hesitant cousin, per News Channel 8. The press secretary hoped to quell vaccine hesitancy.